


Something To Celebrate

by ErinPtah



Series: The Liberalverse [4]
Category: Fake News FPF
Genre: Christmas Cookies, Ficlet, Gen, Holidays, Zadroga Bill
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-09-09
Updated: 2011-09-09
Packaged: 2018-11-01 06:00:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 477
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10915773
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ErinPtah/pseuds/ErinPtah
Summary: Stephen belongs to the Susan Sarandon school of political thought. A very special holiday-themed Liberalverse ficlet, referencing the passing ofthe Zadroga bill.





	Something To Celebrate

Stephen is resolutely observing Solstice, Festivus, HumanLight, Christmahanukwanzakah, Kwanzaa, and Slovenien Independence Day all in a row. Jon isn't sure how many of these are traditionally celebrated with tinsel, turkey dinners, and gingerbread cookies; but it cheers Stephen up to feel like he's honoring his non-Christian friends during the season, and besides, he's a fantastic cook. So Jon ends accepts his invitations more often than not.

Which is why he's on Stephen's couch across from a TV playing footage of a nondenominational Yule log, working up the courage to try a suspicious-looking figgy pudding (no matter what Stephen says, food is not supposed to be on fire), when his phone chirps. It's a news alert. The bill has Congress' approval; all Obama has to do is sign.

Jon takes an ample bite of figgy pudding. It's vile. He finds he doesn't mind.

Stephen gets overly stiff and smiley when he hears the story; Jon waves him down. "Relax. If there's anything it's okay to be judgmental about, it's playing bullshit political games with the health of 9/11 responders."

"Judging?" squeaks Stephen. "Who said anything about judging?"

"Well, no one. You just had the..." Jon flaps his hand in the general area of his face. "The look."

"Well, I'm not," says Stephen. "At least, I didn't intend to...oh, sorry, I forgot that intent doesn't mean anything! Jon, I apologize for judging you, and if you want to yell at me for a while now I will take it like a being-of-unspecified-gender-who-happens-to-be-strong."

Okay, that catches Jon off-guard. "Hang on. You were judging...I mean, not-judging... _me_?"

"Nnnnnyes?"

"What _for?_ It's not my job to get the thing passed in the first place! The fact that it wasn't done long before I threw my two cents into the ring is on Congress' head, not mine. Or—wait, are you mad because it doesn't go far enough? We're not allowed to be relieved unless it also provides health care for every citizen, their pets-of-unspecified-species, and all the wild animals on top of that?"

"Free-living animals," Stephen corrects him, nibbling on a gingerbread being-of-unspecified-gender. "And no, Jon, don't you see? The problem is that it got passed at all!"

If the sentiment had come from anyone else, Jon might have slapped them. As it is, he just raises his eyebrows. "This, I gotta hear."

"Because it was a victory for justice, human rights, and common decency," explains Stephen. "So it gives the populace one less reason to want to rise up and smash the system altogether. And anyone who supports it is basically an enabler for the capitalist kyriarchic hegemony. That's just _logic_. Not that I'm judging you for it! And even if I were, I'd forgive you!"

Jon flops back against the couch. "Of course you would. Now pass the eggnog and let me celebrate my forgiveness in style."


End file.
